Chapter Sixty-Six: Gathering of the Mighty

The giant serpent also heard the sound of the bell, raising its head to gaze into the depths of the ruins. It seemed hesitant, yearning to venture deeper, yet held back by some unspoken terror, torn between fleeing and lingering in unwillingness.

Night Endless, witnessing this, felt a chill within. The serpent’s cultivation was formidable, and even it wavered at the threshold—what could possibly dwell within the ruins to inspire such fear?

“Dong!”

Once more, the bell tolled from the heart of the ruins. This time, it did not stir Night Endless's desire; instead, a wave of anger welled up from deep within him. The muffled, ancient, and lingering chime reverberated in his chest, painting the vision before his eyes with desolation.

The sword intent within him seemed to bristle, as though sensing a presence that disturbed it greatly, coiling and ready to lash out in a frenzy of blood and steel.

Night Endless hurriedly forced the sword intent down. Not far from him, the giant serpent still lingered. Should his sword intent burst forth and draw the serpent’s attention, he was not confident in prevailing against a beast emanating such concentrated power.

His own body was robust, even among those of similar cultivation, surpassing most human practitioners in physical strength. Yet, humans could not match fiend beasts in raw durability, and his injuries had only half healed. With his body compromised and relying solely on sword intent, he could not guarantee victory over the serpent.

The giant serpent quivered at the sound of the bell, then, with astonishing speed, slithered away from the ruins, leaving Night Endless in awe. In the blink of an eye, it had vanished hundreds of meters away, its silhouette shrinking rapidly in the distance.

“That serpent just fled like that? What on earth is hidden in the depths? Should I proceed or turn back?” Night Endless felt a flicker of doubt. Such a powerful serpent had bolted in terror at the bell’s toll—what manner of thing could this be?

The bell itself seemed strange, almost reminiscent of something from the Buddhist tradition, stirring desire and shaking the soul.

A vague suspicion took root in Night Endless’s mind. The two bell tolls had each pulled at his “desire” and “anger.” If his guess was correct, these corresponded to the Buddhist precepts—the Five, Eight, and Ten Precepts.

The Buddhist precepts: First, do not kill; second, do not steal; third, do not commit sexual misconduct; fourth, do not lie; fifth, do not consume intoxicants; sixth, do not covet; seventh, do not give way to anger; eighth, do not indulge in ignorance; ninth, do not be arrogant; tenth, do not harbor doubt.

The first precept: do not kill living beings. Simply put, do not harm any sentient life.
The second: do not steal. Simply put, do not take what is not given.
The third: do not commit sexual misconduct. Simply put, abstain from illicit acts.
The fourth: do not lie. Simply put, do not speak falsehoods, especially great lies.
The fifth: do not consume intoxicants. Simply put, avoid substances that cloud the mind…

The recent bell tolls had corresponded precisely to “sexual misconduct” and “killing,” but in reverse to the precepts, as if the bell was evil in nature.

Of course, all this was speculation on Night Endless’s part. The truth would only be revealed if he drew closer.

Night Endless mulled it over and concluded that danger and opportunity often went hand in hand. If, from such a distance, the bell could affect him so deeply, what might happen up close?

Regardless, just the bell alone was clearly extraordinary.

Without doubt, Night Endless felt a greedy desire for the bell itself.

Opportunities such as this were rare and fleeting. If he missed this one, who knew when another chance would come his way?

He pressed onward into the depths. Along the way, he encountered no more powerful fiend beasts.

The weaker ones had surely fled with the beast tide, while the stronger were either converging on the ruins’ heart or already gathered there—perhaps on the same errand as Night Endless himself.

He advanced swiftly, leaping effortlessly over distances of twenty or thirty meters—a trivial feat for him. Were it not for caution, he could have leapt fifty or sixty meters even wounded; at his peak, a hundred meters would have been within reach.

After traveling another dozen miles, a wave of terrifying pressure swept from the horizon. Instinctively, Night Endless concealed himself within a stone cavern.

Beams of divine light streaked across the sky, whistling over his head—none noticed his presence hidden among the stone forests below.

“More and more powerful cultivators are being drawn here. The waters are growing murky,” Night Endless murmured to himself.

Only when the divine lights had passed did he emerge, chasing after their fading glimmers but daring not to employ his sword-riding technique.

The more powerful the gathering, the more chaotic the situation would become.

To fish in troubled waters—this was Night Endless’s plan.

After covering several more miles, he sensed even greater waves of power. Again he hid, watching as a dozen more beams of divine light swept in from every direction. The pressure was suffocating.

Such intensity he had only ever sensed from Chao Tianxiang herself. Clearly, all those riding these beams were at the Golden Core stage.

Watching the departing beams, Night Endless fell silent. With his body still bearing heavy wounds, he could risk everything against a fiend beast of his own level, but against a Golden Core cultivator—an entire realm higher—it was an insurmountable gap.

The difference between realms was not as simple as one plus one; each was a chasm that could not be crossed.

As the beams vanished into the depths of the ruins, Night Endless’s eyes darkened, his face twisted with unwillingness. He had not even glimpsed the secret at the heart of the ruins, and already so many powerful figures had arrived.

Should he still try to fish in these waters or not?

The tear-streaked faces of Ye Ruoyue and Ye Ruxue flashed through his mind, impossible to dispel. He needed strength—he needed power.

He had his answer. His sword intent erupted wildly. Even if this was a dragon’s lair or a tiger’s den, he—

He, Night Endless—

Would charge forward, come what may!

To live without madness is not to live at all.

What is life without wildness?

Since he coveted what lay within, no matter what it was, if he dared to dream of it, he must dare to fight for it, to charge after it.

The Immortal Path—

Night Endless did not trouble himself with grand philosophies. He lived in the present; his only goal was to strive, to become stronger—so strong that none would dare oppose him.

So strong that no one could threaten those close to him.

So strong that whether immortal, demon, beast, or Buddha, all would tremble beneath his feet.

This road would not be easy; it would be paved with bones, step by bloody step, to the end.

The long immortal road, paved with withered bones, is the battlefield where heroes are born.